Founded in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery is located in London just off Trafalgar Square and is home to the world's largest collection of portraits, featuring famous men and women who helped shape British history from the great Tudor courts to the present day, with contemporary portraits reflecting the diversity The creativity and multiculturalism of modern Britain. Weaving 500 years of history, art, biography and fame, the gallery offers unique and fascinating insight into those individuals who mark the nation together, and its 3,000 paintings feature some of the most iconic and recognizable faces in British history, from Elizabeth I to J.K. JK Rowling and more, giving visitors the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the country's most famous kings, queens, courtiers, politicians, poets, soldiers, scientists, artists, writers, philosophers and movie stars.